Image from the film Free As Can Be © Samuel Crossley
Since the release of Free as Can Be, Jordan Cannon and Mark Hudon have been busy – you guessed it – climbing! Last summer, they went on a sport climbing road trip to Ten Sleep, WY, and Rifle, CO, where Cannon climbed his first couple of 5.14a’s and Hudon climbed his first 5.13a’s in nearly 20 years!
Cannon managed to successfully free-climb the Yosemite test-piece Golden Gate in a day, signed a new contract with Arc’teryx, and upgraded from a minivan to a full-size van that he can stand up in (wahoo)! The year offered growth in his personal realm too – Cannon is now “out” and with the support of Hudon and others, is living his best, most authentic life.
Hudon has no plans to go back to try and free Freerider any time soon. “People don’t understand what a giant mental and physical effort it was for me… it closed a 40-year chapter in my life, and I know there will be no sequel. As an aside, and maybe a hint to Jordan, if one of these days or years, if he and I did an easy and relaxed “free as can be” ascent of Freerider, I’d pretty much be as happy as a pig in shit.”
